BOSTON — Well here’s Exhibit A why the NHL should just give up with suspending players until it has created an outright ban against hits to the head, and why the NHLPA has to get more involved in the education process if it wants to preserve the brains of its members.

Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome, who will always be as infamous in Boston as Ulf Samuelsson after he ended Nathan Horton’s season with a hit to the head, spoke with some assembled media at TD Garden today after the Canucks practiced in preparation for tomorrow night’s Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. While not every member of the media was alerted to Rome’s first availability since the Game 3 hit, his comments have been widely distributed since.

Rome was suspended four games for a hit that caused a severe concussion to Horton. So he’s now sitting out a ban that has cost him his lifelong dream of playing for the Stanley Cup. Yet, here’s what he had to say about the play in question:

“If I could go back, I’d wish he didn’t get hurt but I don’t think it would change my decision on the play,” said Rome. “I’ve got to step up and be physical, that’s part of my game. It’s just unfortunate.”

Rome could’ve easily said something like “I wish I hadn’t hit him in the head” or “I’ve got to be careful not to hit him in the head.” After all, the 6-foot-1 could have avoided a blow to the upright, 6-2 Horton’s head. Instead, Rome is falling back on the old messages of wishing Horton wasn’t hurt, but putting a little blame on Horton — like many victims of headshots before him — for not keeping his head up.

“There has to be some accountability on the part of the player skating with the puck up the middle of the ice — maybe with his head down not looking,” said Rome. “If it’s half a second earlier, a quarter of a second earlier, I’m not in this situation.

“But the game happens fast and, for me, I’ve got to play on the edge and I guess that time it a little bit over the edge.”

Playing on or over the edge for Rome means he’ll still be able to go out on the ice with the Stanley Cup if Vancouver wins. It means that he probably won’t have any health problems when he shows up to training camp next spring. Horton? Well who knows?

It’s been pointed out that Rome was the victim of a questionable hit in the Western Conference Final from Jamie McGinn. The play caused a concussion that Rome recovered from in time to return to action. One would think that would make him more sensitive to these issues. Instead he’s just spewing out the old “caveman” cliches about keeping ones head up and needing to always play physical. “I wish he wasn’t hurt.” Sounds like something a fourth-grader would say after throwing a rock at someone’s head.

Horton, meanwhile, doesn’t get to the play in the Final. And as we know, his future is questionable for now. Marc Savard once looked over his concussion problems and then showed up at training camp last fall and couldn’t do any activity. These things are always a crap shoot.

There’s been a debate raging for years over what the proper punishment for a hit like Rome’s should be. Many even thought the four-game ban, especially considering the time of year, was too harsh. I say, enough with the bans. Instead lets make anyone guilty of a blow to the head live his life as though he has a concussion. No talking on the phone, no television, just sitting in a dark room with very little food or human interaction. In Rome’s case, that might not have worked because he already knew what recovering from a concussion entailed. But maybe it would teach some other guys a lesson.

The one thing I would’ve liked to have seen from Rome is an apology. By most accounts, this is a “good guy” who wouldn’t intend to injure. But you do a search for the word “sorry” in the stories using his comments and it never shows up. The guy doesn’t even have the decency to apologize for the hit. All he’s really worried about is the ban he received and the fact that if he was a half-second quicker he’d still be playing.

The Bruins and Canucks have built up quite a bit of hate for one another over the course of this series. At the end of the day, though, they’re all still human beings, still just hockey players, and some of these guys might even be inter-team friends.

It wouldn’t have killed Rome to be apologetic about a hit that not only altered a Cup Final series but altered a career. One of these days a hit like Rome’s, however, might kill unless everyone gets more serious about shots to the head.

Chara is focused on Paccioretti and skating backwards. Could he have known exactly where he was? Sure. But Paccioretti definitely knew where he was and he decided to try to blow between the largest human to ever play the game and the stantion. It was a hugely unfortunate play. Doesn’t montreal take any blame for their rink being one of the worst to play in according to current and former players?? Minimal standards on the padding, hardest boards in the NHL.

David, I’ve played hockey for over 25 years now. Yes, I’m getting old and slow but I still know a bad play when I see one.
A defenseman of Chara’s ability always knows where he is on the ice. He’s a Norris trophy winner for crying out loud.
When you are delivering checks near the benches, you are conscious of 2 things.
1) The doors to the bench (because we old timers use em)
2) The time keeper’s box.

Chara was skating along side Pacioretty and losing ground. His left arm went up behind Max’s head and leaned it directly into the stanchion.
That to me is not a hockey play. It was called interference because it was a deliberate act and Chara’s been around too damn long to not know what he was doing. His arm went up behind his head and that was the end of it.
The only defense Chara could possibly have is that the event happened quickly but to call THAT a hockey play is not acceptable.
His answers after the game simply reeked of being consulted by team lawyers to avoid accountability. If he had simply said “yeah, I was meaning to rub him out but I didn’t think he’d end up like that”, would have been acceptable. Instead it was “hockey play”, “he jumped”… You’re 6’9, you’ll fight anything but can’t take responsibility for a hit? Just avoiding a suspension more like.
I’ll always have a beef with that play even though I know Chara is not a homicidal maniac.

The only parallel I see with the Rome hit is that things happen fast. Rome should be saying that he made a mistake to hit him that late but the fact that he was late and hit him in the head was hit fault. The fact that Chara drove Pacioretty into that stanchion was his fault.

I find guys who own rock-em sockem hockey videos think this type of hockey is acceptable. I call this play-station hockey.
I say suit up, hit the ice and see if you like taking a headshot…or getting rubbed out into a stanchion. All you tough ‘fans’ out there. Join a beer league and drop the gloves…see how much fun it is…:)

David,
So basically 1/4 of the hockey market is supporting the Bruins?
All those teams with those empty arenas?
Bruins are NOT supported anywhere near 50% anywhere in Canada. Usually, it’s just some hairy backed Camaro driving mullet wearing relic from the 80s that still likes the Bruins up here….oh wait, I saw legions of those in the stands at the TD gardens:)
Must be an homage to Boston:)

Just to be perfectly clear here, I’m a huge LA Kings fan from day one. That said, I am pulling for the Bruins as much as any of their loyal fans are to send the Vancryer Cajokes packing. I am literally embarrassed to be a hockey fan when i watch the garbage that Vancouver tries to sell to the refs. NHL: PLEASE START CALLING DIVING PENALTIES W/OUT THE “EVEN UP” CALL!

In short, RD, Pretty much all of America on the coasts, and across the North (read: the Americans who care about hockey or try to stay current with all sports). That’s the better part of our population, since the middle is pretty empty, as is the south. You would think our identity would be smash and bash, but that is pretty much relegated to Lucic, who does make with regularity dirty hits. I personally would like to see him be traded. Other than that, the team as a whole generally makes clean hockey hits that almost never result in serious injury to the opponent, and even when they do, they are still within the rules of the game, such as Boychuck’s open ice hit against Kaleta in the playoffs last season that broke Kaleta’s collarbone. It was never penalized because Kaleta had the puck, and Boychuck went into Kaleta’s chest with his shoulder and let Kaleta’s momentum do the rest. I don’t know why people would mind Krejci. I don’t recall once where he bit someone’s finger or threw a dirty hit, or dove rather than make a play.
I suppose the only reaction to anything that goes against Montreal in Montreal is disgust. I recall you on here specifically calling this a hockey play. It speaks to your integrity that you would change your answer, and don’t come back and say that was someone else, or I got it wrong RD, I recall you not being happy about the hit, but understanding that it wasn’t made with ill-intent. TO say it another way, Chara was trying to remove Patches from the play without intent to injure.
I’d give you the fans are brutal here, although only for Montreal Canadiens, New York (everyone except the Mets and Islanders) and the LA Lakers, although Van has worked themselves into the fan’s good graces. The truth is, (with the exception of the Yankees) most fans will let bygones be bygones unless the visiting fans are douches (surprise of surprises about the visiting Vancouver fans). So don’t you worry too much about that RD.

And Finally, if playing in the corners means to hack, slash, and punch everything, then yes, we do. However, being a reasonable person, I don’t think that could easily be defined as such.

So in summation, I would say that at the very least, Quebec and Vancouver are rooting for Vancouver, the rest of Canada might even be an even split, but if you want to tell me that Vancouver has played the nicer, cleaner, more even-keeled game, I’d ask for some of what you’ve been smoking because that must be good stuff!

My goodness, RD, you are RIGHT! Chara did move his stick!!!!! Stop the presses! It’s a wonder that Canuck is still in this series… as he skated into Chara’s stick, Chara actually moved it an inch or two! No wonder he was doubled over for the next 2 minutes of drama, barely making back to his bench.

Wow, are you for real?

I guess if you look at that play and defend it, we just look at sports very differently.

Can’t wait until the B’s send this miserable bunch to the links Wed night.

Plenty of people are cheering for the Canucks.
If anyone can be construed as the “villains” in the NHL, it would be the big bad bruins. For one, they always talk about their “identity”. Their identity is smashing their opponents to pieces. How does that win over anyone? Does anyone like Lucic? Does anyone like Krejci? Seriously no…
Second, with the events that happened with Max Pacioretty, the response was overwhelming disgust. Not only did the league for completely drop the ball on this non suspension, but the Bruins looked insane calling that rub out into the stanchion a ‘hockey play’.
Combine that with the fact that the league’s disciplinarian’s son plays for the Bruins, and there is documented evidence of Campbell tampering with referees with regards to his son’s play, it is only logical to dislike Bruins. On top of all this, Jeremy Jacobs sits as the chairman of the board of governors for the league so basically, it feels like the screw is in for the Bruins from the League’s top office down.

Then there’s the drooling fans….nobody likes to wear their jersey in Boston for fear of being assaulted. I can only think of Philly being a worse town to support the visiting team.
So don’t think for a second the people of the world are supporting the Bruins over Vancouver. Some people will support the hockey playing brand of hockey, others will support the smash, hack, slash, punch everything brand of hockey.
Seriously, who’s cheering for the Bruins aside from Bruins fans?

I would have respected Tampa if they won, even rooted for them. I would have had respect for the Canadiens or Flyers the way they played during the series, albeit less for the diving Canadiens. Even the Canadiens held their players responsible for their actions. I remember, Benoit Pouloit made a dirty hit on a Bruin, one that I was mad to see. Lo and behold, he was not present the next game and I barely saw him on the ice for the remainder of that game. The Canadiens, as much as I hate them, still had enough of a fair game and humanity to do the right thing. Philly less so in other ways, but whey we started to shell them in games 1 and 4, they just stuck to it. They didn’t attack us, or grab our players from behind or bite us. There were a few questionable hits, but they didn’t try to injure us or be jerks when they were frustrated. I could still have respected them winning that way.

Vancouver is different. No matter what they other team does, Vancouver’s opponent was never any good, or they didn’t play fair, or they interpreted the rules the wrong way. Vancouver never seeks the problem within themselves, they’d rather blame everyone around them. Luongo telling Thomas how to goaltend better? Seriously??? Rome think the hit was Horton’s fault, despite committing to the hit after the puck was already away from him? Burrows biting Bergeron, and then denying it? The only one man enough to actually take a stand and fight was Kesler, who may be the last Canuck I can respect. He was angry and at least tried to be honorable about how he channeled it, not through Biting or bitching to the media, or diving and then grabbing a player from behind when no penalty comes. It’s really hard to respect a team that plays like that. That’s why no one wants to root for them. That’s why we, nor the rest of the hockey world, will respect the Canucks.

To be honest, there is a lot of skill on the canucks, the problem is the whiny, bitchy, self-centered package that the skill is wrapped it.